Network Three has extended its all-you-can-eat data offer to every mobile customer - for an extra £3 a month.
With the generous data deal widened to include those on The One Plan, as well as PAYG patrons through a £15 bundle pack, the company must have deemed it unfair on all remaining contract customers and has now opened the …

COMMENTS

Will this be full 3.6Mbps HSPA for £3?

Or will it be a second-tier, much slower, non-HSPA service that tops out at 384Kbps, similar to how T-Mobile UK will only provision HSPA to those customers paying separately for Web'n'Walk (from £7.50/month) while those T-Mobile UK customers with "free" *bundled* Web'n'Walk will only get the 384Kbps 3G data service and not HSPA (you won't find this detail listed in the small print anywhere on the T-Mobile site, they'll only admit this to you - eventually, assuming you get the right person - when you call customer service).

I would not be surprised to find out that The One Plan customers, and those PAYG customers forking out £15/month for the bundle pack, will be provisioned with full 3.6Mbps HSPA, while those contract customers taking the cheaper £3 option will not be allowed HSPA and instead restricted to 3G only.

What T-Mobile do wouldn't be so bad if they were upfront about it, but they hide this from customers - hopefully 3 will be more upfront about it if they intend to follow the same route.

Been with them for years

and have never had anything more than minor problems. The AYCE data is fantastic. My phone is the wifi hotspot for my laptop now when I can't jump on anyone elses. They actively encourage you to use as much as you want. It doesn't slow down as the 1st AC thought it might. Who else is offering anything close?

Your £15 AYCE service doesn't slow down

because the 1st AC isn't suggesting it will - s/he is suggesting those who pay for the new £3 data deal will end up with a second-tier service and those paying the full whack for existing data plans have nothing to fear.

Assuming 3 will be operating a tiered service, and frankly there's little reason why they shouldn't, the only question that remains is whether they will be open and honest about it or keep quiet as per T-Mobile UK.